COLOMBO: In what is seen as a key step towards de-militarisation, the Maithripala Sirisena government has taken the army off VVIP security duties and has given the task entirely to the police.

From now onwards police commandos designated as the Special Task Force (STF) will be entrusted with the task of security provision. The key decision towards this goal comes with the decision to replace the army with the police with regard to the security of the former President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, a decision that has run into much controversy.

The government on Wednesday said it had withdrawn the last 50 of the 102 army personnel who were guarding Rajapaksa. The Joint Opposition Group (JOG), which Rajapaksa heads, staged a violent protest concerning the decision inside the premises of the parliament on Tuesday.

The Rajapaksa faction, which has 47 MPs in a House of 225, vociferously demanded that military protection be continued since Rajapaksa still faces threats from remnants of the LTTE.

The government has refused the demand staying that it has taken a blanket decision that all VVIPs will from now on be protected by specially trained police commandos.

The current President’s and the Prime Minister’s security has also been entrusted to the police.

Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2016